Putting Selontra^®’s palatability to the test at a doughnut factory with an alarming infestation

Lindsay Silvester, of Advanced Pest Management, made a shocking discovery at a routine visit to a doughnut factory, when he found both rats and House mice had been feasting on the sweet treats produced at the site in Shrewsbury. Here, we explore how Lindsay put Selontra®’s palatability to the test and gained complete control in just seven days, despite the attractive alternative food sources available.

• Rats living in brownie palettes and mice sightings on site
• Attractive alternative food sources including cakes and doughnuts
• Selontra^® used across 34 bait boxes
• Total eradication in 7 days

The Challenge

When Lindsay visited one of his regular contracts as part of a routine pest management inspection, he made an alarming discovery when he found evidence of activity from both rats and House mice on site.

He found that the rodents had begun to ingress into the building, with one having dug its way in under some gravel into an electrical control panel room and one even coming in on a pallet of chocolate brownies!

Lindsay commented: “When I started delving into the pallet I found where the rat had been living within it and I even spotted it with my own eyes, before it quickly disappeared. That was when it was clear that I needed to act fast to prevent these rodents from potentially contaminating the products being produced at the factory and threatening public health.”

As well as Lindsay’s sighting, the staff on site also reported sightings of mice in the service area, and the existing bait boxes had evidence of gnawing damage.

Lindsay commented: “Despite there not being a huge number of rodents on site at that time, I had to act fast prevent it getting out of control. The key challenge for me was finding a rodenticide that was extremely palatable to the rodents. At the site, they had an abundance of food sources to choose from, from cakes and chocolate to doughnuts and biscuits, so I needed a product that would compete with that food source. The rodents were going to keep coming to the building due to this, so I decided to try Selontra^® as it had been reported as being highly palatable to rodents.”

The Result

Lindsay replaced any damaged bait boxes and used a total of 28 boxes for mice inside the building and a further six bait boxes along the outside of the building for rats. Following label instructions, he secured two blocks of Selontra^® to the inside of each mouse box and seven in rat boxes outside.

He said: “When I first established that there was a problem, I put the bait down on the first visit, and by the second visit a couple of days later it had virtually solved the problem within an instant! I was understandably really chuffed about it - I was sorted in seven days and I’m now back to my routine monthly inspections on the site.

“Selontra^® for me was very effective because I gained control very quickly and it reduced the time I had to spend coming back on site. The key benefit for me was the palatability – despite there being a wide range of highly attractive food sources on site, they still went for the Selontra^®.

“As well asa being highly palatable and fast, it’s also stopped me having to come back all the time – I would say it’s reduced the time of me having to come on site in half.

“I’ve been in this industry for 32 years and I now use Selontra^® on 98% of my jobs. It works absolutely wonderfully and I’m really pleased with the results!”

Information: Use biocide products carefully. Always read the label and product information before use.